Sandy Hook native Mackie Samoskevich remembers seeing the Stanley Cup as a child, when the Boston Bruins brought it to Newtown Youth Academy (NYA) in early 2013.<\/p>\n
Twelve years later, after Mackie completed his first full season with the Florida Panthers, he brought the Stanley Cup back to where it all started: his hometown.<\/p>\n
Community members got to meet Mackie and see the Stanley Cup during a special meet-and-greet at NYA on August 1.<\/p>\n
Mackie and his family set up two tables in the sports and fitness center\u2019s turf area, one for Mackie and the other for the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n
Over 260 people registered in advanced to \u201cCelebrate with a Champion,\u201d with a line that spanned from the turf area to all the way outside the building. The crowd contained people of all ages, with everyone excited to celebrate Mackie and his team\u2019s monumental achievement.<\/p>\n
The first people to meet Mackie were those in NYA\u2019s youth summer camp. The two dozen campers drew pictures of the Stanley Cup in advance for Mackie to sign, before later taking a group photo with him.<\/p>\n
After that, the meet-and-greet opened up to everyone else, where people got Mackie\u2019s autograph and took pictures of him and the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n
The Florida Panthers won this year\u2019s Stanley Cup Final, an annual championship series of the National Hockey League. The winning team is awarded the eponymous Stanley Cup, the oldest trophy in North American sports.<\/p>\n
The Stanley Cup is partially made of five removeable bands, which honor the most recent winning championship team.<\/p>\n
Players of the winning team have their names engraved on one of the bands. Whenever it gets full, the oldest band gets retired and is replaced with a new, blank band.<\/p>\n
This year, the Florida Panthers once again had their names memorialized in NHL history, as the team won its first ever Stanley Cup in 2024.<\/p>\n
As is hockey tradition, players from the winning team each get a private day with the trophy. For Mackie, he wanted to bring the trophy back to his hometown.<\/p>\n
In addition to bringing the Stanley Cup to NYA, Mackie brought it to NewSylum Brewing Company and the Sandy Hook Elementary School Memorial. He also brought it to Northford Ice Pavilion in North Branford, where he skated as a kid.<\/p>\n
Before August 1, it had not been long since Mackie\u2019s last visit to Newtown. He came back right after the season to see family and friends, as well as look back on the dozens of memories he has of his hometown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always love coming back every year, and to share the Cup here … it\u2019s super special,\u201d Mackie said.<\/p>\n
A Generational Love<\/p>\n
The Samoskevich family\u2019s lives are undeniably tied to hockey. Mackie comes from a hockey family, who loved the sport so much they had a large rink in their Sandy Hook home\u2019s backyard.<\/p>\n
Mackie, his twin sister Maddy, and his older sister Melissa, all skated on the rink together growing up. Now all these years later, Mackie is hitting the rink as a player in the NHL, while his two sisters continued to skate at the collegiate level and beyond.<\/p>\n
It all started with his father, Fred, who began playing hockey when he was in third grade. He quickly went from skating on ponds to skating in organized hockey around fourth and fifth grade. Fred kept playing through high school and beyond, going on to compete in a men\u2019s hockey league.<\/p>\n
When he and his wife Patty had their kids, Fred had to decided between putting a rink or a pool in their backyard. For Fred, who still deeply loved the sport, it was not a hard choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I decided on the rink. I was still playing, I was still playing mentally … and obviously, it paid off,\u201d Fred said.<\/p>\n
A big draw of the sport to him is that it let the family spend a lot of time together. Even after all three kids started competing in tournaments, Fred said they made it work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any other sport where the family stays together as much,\u201d Fred said.<\/p>\n
For Maddy, having her brother come back home with the Stanley Cup is a \u201creally special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing experience, and we\u2019re so proud of him,\u201d Maddy said. \u201cHe\u2019s worked so hard and committed himself to this game so much, so to just see all his hard work pay off, it\u2019s really awesome to experience it with him and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa said their relationship is very strong as siblings. They still find a way to talk all the time, even though they now live far away from each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re never together, just with where we live and how hockey works, but whenever we get together, it doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s missed a beat,\u201d Melissa said.<\/p>\n
Patty said seeing her son\u2019s journey with hockey, from playing it in college to getting draft in the NHL, is \u201ca dream come true.\u201d When Mackie was in kindergarten, he made a sign that read, \u201cWhat do you want to be when you grow up?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackie\u2019s answer: \u201cI want to be an NHL player.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been hanging in his bedroom for all these years, ever since he was in kindergarten,\u201d Patty said. \u201cAnd he achieved it. All through his hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now having his first full season behind him, Mackie said he learned a lot about himself, his teammates, and the game of hockey itself.<\/p>\n
He called the past year \u201csuper valuable\u201d to him, adding that he felt lucky to be a part of such a great team and organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had so much fun this year, and to be back next year with pretty much the same team, it\u2019s gonna be awesome,\u201d Mackie said.<\/p>\n
Despite the years since Mackie and his sisters first got on the ice, he said his relationship with the sport \u201chasn\u2019t really changed\u201d from when he was a kid.<\/p>\n
Mackie said he still loves playing hockey every day. Having his two sisters around growing up helped a lot, since it meant he always had someone to play with on the rink.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I get on the ice, it kind of brings me back to being out there [as a kid],\u201d Mackie said.<\/p>\n
The biggest takeaway Mackie has from his years of playing is the importance of relationships.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sport\u2019s great obviously, don\u2019t get me wrong. But the friendships and bonds you have, the memories you make everyday, sharing this with [my team] and my family \u2026 I think I\u2019ll definitely remember those moments more,\u201d Mackie said.<\/p>\n
Several members of his family were in the building when he made his first goal late last October, when the Florida Panthers faced the New York Islanders.<\/p>\n
Having his family cheer on from the sidelines, or from their TV screens miles away, is a feeling like no other to Mackie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just a kid playing street ball with [the Boston Bruins] … so it\u2019s pretty cool to see it come full circle now,\u201d Mackie said with a smile.<\/p>\n